USER REVIEWS

At times, the movie is so good that it could have been a masterpiece (no wonder it was nominated for Oscar in International movies category). But it is not.

The final twist of the story (which is tightly connected to the beginning) makes theAt times, the movie is so good that it could have been a masterpiece (no wonder it was nominated for Oscar in International movies category). But it is not.

The final twist of the story (which is tightly connected to the beginning) makes the whole of it somewhat of a farce.

In my opinion, the topic of great magnitude, such as civilian population suffering in a war, should not be confined into an obscure and improbable case.

Still, I cannot overlook the number of impressive, magnificent scenes which make the movie definitely worth seeing.…Expand

It seemed a tad busy, and the languages not being my own first, robbed me I'm sure from some being able to tell if it was genuine in some scenes with the acting...though Grandmother's did seem a little over the top, not buying it some. TheIt seemed a tad busy, and the languages not being my own first, robbed me I'm sure from some being able to tell if it was genuine in some scenes with the acting...though Grandmother's did seem a little over the top, not buying it some. The story did move in time a lot. The two female lead's too much alike in look made it a good challenge to see where we were in the story. Fine. But a lot of things we could guess what were what and yeah, intentional, what with the characters finding out later...but, so much repetition of some story lines, felt as if, you know, CUT CUT CUT already. We get it. Still, heavy impact at the latter bits. WOW. No spoilers here but, advice: GO TO A COMFORTABLE SEATING PLACE! Regal Cinema in Irvine's blows!…Expand

An okay movie, but extremely overrated by critics.The story is basically a two-hour intellectual torture porn, piling tragedy upon tragedy so inflationarily that after one hour, I lost all emotional connection to the protagonist. TalkingAn okay movie, but extremely overrated by critics.The story is basically a two-hour intellectual torture porn, piling tragedy upon tragedy so inflationarily that after one hour, I lost all emotional connection to the protagonist. Talking about protagonists, the three main characters lack depth and development and feel like they are just there to enable the (admittedly rather skillful) telling of the plot. As has been criticised by a lot of other reviewers, the plot twists become more and more contrived to the point of absurdity - which is not a big problem if you accept the movie as an illustration about the effect that war has on the fate of the individual. What's a lot more unfortunate is that exactly this illustration is ill-executed because we get so little insight into the world of the characters. The movie doesn't make a firm commitment to telling either the story of a society torn by war or that of individuals broken by war and, as a result, fails at convincingly telling either of the two.

I guess the good reviews are a result of the many - and not very elaborate - references the story makes to topics which are usually well-received by critics, regardless of the quality in which they are presented: cultural oppression of women, sexual violence, child soldiers, perversion of religion for the purpose of war, etc.

On a more positive note, it has some very well-crafted and intense scenes and well-picked scenery.

In the end, neither Incendies' plot nor its message warrant sitting through two hours of headshots, bombs, rape, child murder, torture and screaming women, so I wouldn't recommend it.…Expand